WALTHAM – The Celtics may be sitting 12 games behind the Knicks with two games left in the regular season, and may have lost the season series to New York. But don’t try to convince the team that has played in three NBA Finals in the past six seasons that it is embarking on any type of monumental-upset campaign when it opens up playoff action at Madison Square Garden next Saturday against a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series in 13 years.

Scott Souza/Daily News staff

WALTHAM – The Celtics may be sitting 12 games behind the Knicks with two games left in the regular season, and may have lost the season series to New York.

But don’t try to convince the team that has played in three NBA Finals in the past six seasons that it is embarking on any type of monumental-upset campaign when it opens up playoff action at Madison Square Garden next Saturday against a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series in 13 years.

"We don’t call ourselves the underdog," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said to the media before Monday’s final workout of the regular season. "You guys call us the underdog. We don’t feel any different. We were an underdog seed last year. For us, we just keep rolling."

That attitude is clearly pervasive throughout the team as it attempts to get through the final two games of the regular season unscathed before facing the opponent the Celtics swept out of the 2011 playoffs.

"You can be the underdog, or in any position, and the objective is still to win," Celtics forward Jeff Green said. "That’s all we care about. We don’t care about what people think of how we’re going to come out, or how many games they have us losing.

"We know what we’ve got to do. We know we can beat this team. We believe we have every opportunity to win a championship."

Rivers said the goal in the final weeks of the season was to get the team healthy, in as much rhythm as possible, and preferably avoid facing the defending champion Heat in the first round. Beyond that, he didn’t care which opponent the Celtics traveled to first.

"I don’t want to avoid anyone," Rivers said. "But it was smart not to play the No. 1 team in the NBA in the first round. That’s no slight on New York."

The coach did praise New York’s attention to defense, and Carmelo Anthony, throughout his 10 minutes with the media before the 90-minute workout. He also noted another difference between this playoff series and virtually all of those the Celtics have played since the 2008 title run.

"It’s rare when we go into a series where a team is older than us," the coach said, "and has more veterans. But they do."

Paul Pierce was the only Celtic not present at the workout as he battled a cold. He is expected to be available for Tuesday night’s regular season home finale against the Pacers.

Rivers said Jason Terry (tired legs) would likely sit out the final two games of the season, and that he is leaning toward playing most everyone else at TD Garden, then sitting a lot of guys Wednesday night in Toronto.

"Our guys still want to play," Rivers said. "They want to get in rhythm, stay in rhythm. There are guys who need some minutes.

"JET won’t play tomorrow, I know that for a fact, and may not Wednesday either. His legs have been bothering him and so we want to make sure he has no issues going into the playoffs. If he tells me he needs the game, just to play a game, then we’ll play him. Other than that, I don’t think we’ll play him."

Rivers added that what happens in these last two games will have little bearing on the playoff rotation he uses behind Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett, Green and Pierce to start the playoffs.

"We pretty much know," he said. "There’re teams that we’ve had where there’s nine guys, and they separated themselves, and that’s your rotation. Then that’s the rotation you have. That’s not this team.

"You can use whatever rotation you want, but I guarantee after Game 3 it won’t be the same."

Scott Souza covers the Boston Celtics for the MetroWest Daily News and GateHouse Media. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @scott_souza.

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